This is a great example of having a good twitter network. 

This morning I conducted a demo of Twitter for a colleague who is a web analytics guru (and admitted social media metrics interloper) @mpgarlock57.   I asked a question hoping for a few responses, and within minutes was inundated with some great advice.  Here is my question:

adamcohen Showing twitter to work colleagues – in 140 char, what’s the one best tip you’d recommend for a new twitter user?

In reverse chronological order, here is the complete unedited list of responses I received, all great advice.  Thanks so much to everyone who replied – it couldn’t have made for a better demo of the power of questions over Twitter.  Also thanks for @bethkanter for prompting to capture answers and suggesting a way to do it.

georgedearing @adamcohen | build up your twecosystem first..if you try to go solo you’ll crash and burn..there’s a lot of knowledge in the network

pixel8r @adamcohen – I’m still a bit green, but I’d say, try to answer Q’s or provide help when you can. Be a "real" person with a real personality.

jstorerj @adamcohen @zeldman has this advice – http://tinyurl.com/28fxv7

mindofandre @adamcohen view Twitter as a means for human interaction and not for biz only

giggey @adamcohen,find a good appl for Twitter, the right one or combination can save you loads of time.

jstorerj @adamcohen @rcasenhiser says @jstorerj don’t tweet about cat litter, no one really cares

beamcatchers @adamcohen Follow those people whose interests you share and learn

aruni @adamcohen tip for new twitterers: interact with others…don’t just stream your thoughts. Send some @’s

monawea @adamcohen keep your tweets balanced. Best Twitterers are those that offer a little business here and a little personal there.

JasonCarr @adamcohen The more you follow, the more you find.

DougH @adamcohen – Retweeting @oemperor: @DougH Someone (I forget who) said "Twitter is ephemeral." (I agree with this)

mymo @adamcohen Track ‘phrase’. Awesome for breaking news in a specific industry.

ScottMonty @adamcohen Build your network quickly – start following people and make yourself known by @’ing them.

DougH @adamcohen – Retweeting @MariaGarcia: @DougH Tip for new user: watch out it’s very addictive! VERY ADDICTIVE!

jstorerj @adamcohen visit twitterpacks to find more people to follow and add your name where appropriate – http://tinyurl.com/ysmzht

DougH @adamcohen I’ll say what @chrisbrogan told me way back: Think of Twitter as a stream. Dip in to the flow, forget it when you’re out.

jljohansen @adamcohen Start small. Follow people relevant to you and build your list from there. No need to jump in following 1,000 people.

RealtorLefebvre @adamcohen http://snurl.com/23ddr

kolson29 @adamcohen use twhirl – http://twhirl.org

nathanwburke @adamcohen Tip: Just start using twitter. No explanation in the world will convince people that it is useful. Using it is the only way.

WickedGood @adamcohen Don’t try to follow thousands of people at once. Just follow a few people who seem interesting or who you already know to start.

Suki_MHC05 @adamcohen Best Tip: Be yourself, always.

missmeaghan @adamcohen Follow many; ask and answer questions.

Thanks again to all for participating.  Just catching up?  What is your best Twitter tip?

Edit 4/8: Removed pictures; as people changed their twitter icons, the pics became broken links.  Would love to find a better way to do that…